Retouche photo - le style Harcourt

Introduction

This tutorial guides you through creating a photo retouch in the iconic Harcourt style, characterized by its vintage cinematic feel reminiscent of the 1930s to 1950s. You'll learn how to manipulate lighting and apply black-and-white effects to achieve this classic look using Photoshop. By the end, you'll have a polished photograph that captures the essence of Harcourt's prestigious Parisian portrait style.

Step 1: Understand the Harcourt Style

• Familiarize yourself with the key features of Harcourt photography:
  • High contrast lighting that creates dramatic shadows.
  • A timeless, elegant aesthetic often associated with vintage cinema.
  • Use of projectors to achieve specific lighting effects.
• Research examples of Harcourt portraits to inspire your retouching process.

Step 2: Kill the Light

• "Killing the light" refers to reducing the brightness and saturation in your image to prepare it for further editing.
• Follow these sub-steps:
  • Open your photo in Photoshop.
  • Navigate to the Image menu and select Adjustments.
  • Choose Brightness/Contrast and lower the brightness to darken the image.
  • Adjust the saturation to achieve a more subdued color palette, or convert the image to black and white:
    • Go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White.

Step 3: Manipulate Light with Gradients

• Simulate the dramatic lighting of Harcourt style using gradient overlays.
• Steps to apply gradients:
  • Create a new layer for the gradient.
  • Select the Gradient Tool from the toolbox.
  • Choose a black-to-transparent gradient for shadows.
  • Drag the gradient across the image to create areas of light and shadow.
  • Adjust the layer's opacity and blending mode (e.g., Overlay) to blend the gradient with your photo.

Step 4: Dynamize the Photo

• Add final adjustments to enhance the overall impact of your image.
• Follow these sub-steps:
  • Use the Curves adjustment to fine-tune the contrast:
    • Go to Image > Adjustments > Curves.
    • Create an S-curve to boost highlights and deepen shadows.
  • Apply a vignette effect to draw attention to the subject:
    • Use the Elliptical Marquee Tool to create an oval selection around the subject.
    • Invert the selection and apply a Gaussian blur to soften the edges.
  • Finally, consider adding a slight grain effect for authenticity:
    • Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and adjust to taste.

Conclusion

You've now transformed your photo into a stunning Harcourt-style portrait by understanding the style, manipulating light, and applying final adjustments. Experiment with different images and techniques to further hone your skills. For more advanced training, consider exploring additional resources on mastering Photoshop. Happy editing!